Tennessee 2025-2026 Regular Session

Tennessee Senate Bill SJR0397 Compare Versions

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4	4	SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 397
5	5	By Akbari
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8	8	SJR0397
9	9	001222
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12	12	A RESOLUTION to honor the memory of Sondra Denise Keys-
13	13	Wade.
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15	15	WHEREAS, we were greatly saddened to learn of the untimely passing of our friend and
16	16	former colleague Sondra Denise Keys-Wade; and
17	17	WHEREAS, Sondra Keys-Wade was an extraordinary individual who personified
18	18	excellence, success, and service; she approached life lovingly and faced daily living with fierce
19	19	optimism and was the epitome of God's true and faithful servant; and
20	20	WHEREAS, born on June 11, 1974, Ms. Keys-Wade was the daughter of Kay Miller
21	21	Cook and David Lee Keys, Sr.; she attended Memphis City Schools elementary and secondary
22	22	schools and was the first homecoming queen at John P. Freeman Junior High; and
23	23	WHEREAS, after graduating from Central High School, Sondra Keys-Wade attended
24	24	Dillard University before transferring to the University of Memphis, where she was a member of
25	25	two honor societies and a student delegate to the Tennessee Black Legislative Caucus Retreat;
26	26	and
27	27	WHEREAS, she developed an interest in and love for politics early in life and served as
28	28	an intern to Lois DeBerry, State of Tennessee Representative for District 91 and former
29	29	Speaker Pro Tempore of the Tennessee House of Representatives; she also volunteered with
30	30	the Clinton/Gore 1996 presidential campaign; and
31	31	WHEREAS, Ms. Keys-Wade earned her Juris Doctor degree from Vanderbilt University
32	32	School of Law, receiving the Bennett Douglas Bell Memorial Award upon graduation; during her
33	33	time at Vanderbilt, she studied abroad at Cambridge University in England, volunteered with the
34	34	Juvenile Practice and Legal Aid clinics, and served on the Faculty-Student Relations
35	35	Committee; and
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40	40	WHEREAS, following graduation, Sondra Keys-Wade returned home to Memphis, and
41	41	her professional path continued as Assistant City Attorney with the City of Memphis and then as
42	42	an associate and lobbyist with the Harold Ford Group; she later accepted the position of
43	43	Regional Manager for the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, an independent State agency
44	44	that investigates allegations of discrimination for State agencies; and
45	45	WHEREAS, Ms. Keys-Wade returned to Nashville, where she joined the General
46	46	Assembly's Office of Legal Services, in which position she gained the respect and trust of
47	47	legislators and staff on Capitol Hill; she thereafter resumed private practice with one of the
48	48	nation's leading law firms, Baker, Donelson, Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz, working as a
49	49	government relations attorney in the firm's State Public Policy Group; and
50	50	WHEREAS, as a consultant at Anderson Consulting, LLC, she developed and
51	51	implemented comprehensive legislative, administrative, and regulatory strategies; she also
52	52	served as Director of Government Affairs for Stand for Children, representing its interests before
53	53	state and local public policy groups, and her final career calling brought her to Middle
54	54	Tennessee State University's Office of General Counsel, where she worked in the position of
55	55	Assistant General Counsel; and
56	56	WHEREAS, throughout her career, her professional affiliations included membership in
57	57	the Tennessee Bar Association, the Napier-Looby Bar Association, the Vanderbilt University
58	58	Alumni Association, and the Tennessee Alliance of Black Lawyers; she was a gubernatorial
59	59	appointee to the Tennessee Department of Human Services Board of Appeals and a member of
60	60	the Tennessee Bar Association Leadership Law Class of 2011; and
61	61	WHEREAS, ever focused on community service, Sondra Keys-Wade volunteered her
62	62	time on the Board of Directors for the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, and she was a proud
63	63	member of 100 Black Women of Middle Tennessee; she served on the Grants Review
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68	68	Committee of the Susan G. Komen Greater Nashville Chapter, the Lutheran Women's
69	69	Missionary League, and the Full Circle Healthy Community Coalition as secretary; and
70	70	WHEREAS, Ms. Keys-Wade was a woman of abiding faith, accepting her Lord and
71	71	Savior Jesus Christ early in life and proudly serving as a member and volunteer at Mount Zion
72	72	Baptist Church; and
73	73	WHEREAS, a beloved daughter, sister, spouse, mother, and friend, Sondra Keys-Wade
74	74	was wholly devoted to her family and always endeavored to remain true to family values of the
75	75	highest order; and
76	76	WHEREAS, she will be mourned but fondly remembered by her husband, Dr. Frank D.
77	77	Wade; her bonus daughter, Katherine Josephine Wade; her brother, David Lee (Justin) Keys,
78	78	Jr.; her niece, Kaley J. Brown; her nephew, Bryson M. Coffer; her stepmother, Cheryl Keys; her
79	79	aunts, Janet M. (Timothy) Evans, Denise K. (Calvin) Johnson, Demetrice K. Rufus, and Gail M.
80	80	Taylor; her uncles, Larry McKissick and Dandridge Keys; her great-uncle, Clarence Jordan; and
81	81	a host of cousins, family, and friends; and
82	82	WHEREAS, in addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her sister, Jana
83	83	Marie Keys; and
84	84	WHEREAS, Sondra Keys-Wade leaves behind an indelible legacy of integrity and
85	85	probity in public life, compassion and loyalty in private life, and diligence and dedication in all
86	86	her chosen endeavors; and
87	87	WHEREAS, it is fitting that we honor the life and legacy of this beautiful, on the inside
88	88	and out, kind, caring, selfless, graceful, thoughtful, fierce, brilliant, hilarious, and faith-filled
89	89	human being; now, therefore,
90	90	BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH
91	91	GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE HOUSE OF
92	92	REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING, that we honor the memory of Sondra Denise Keys -
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97	97	Wade, reflecting fondly upon her impeccable character and her stalwart commitment to living
98	98	the examined life with courage and conviction.
99	99	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we extend our sympathy and offer our condolences
100	100	to the family of Ms. Keys-Wade.
101	101	BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
102	102	for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
103	103	the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
104	104	without House or Senate designation.
105	105